Like Mother
by Homemade Biscuit
Summary: Twenty-six years have passed since the destruction of the Human Reaper, the Reaper threat along with it. The Galaxy is still not a safe place however, and one man is searching for the one thing keeping him fighting. Slight AU due to no ME3 events. R&R Plz
1. Chapter 1  Firefight

"Damn Eclipse!" I yelled, diving behind a shipping crate. Shots ricocheted off my cover.

I checked my pistol, fourteen shots left. I flew up, letting off two rounds, one of them causing one of the yellow-suited bastards to go down. I quickly dropped back into cover.

"I'm not going to survive at this rate." I peeked around the edge and spotted a fuel tank near a group of mercs. I could hit it, if I got to a better spot, that is. There was a divider twelve feet across from my left. If I could get to it, I could get my chance.

"Worth a shot."

I ran as fast as I could, trying to avoid the fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted orange. A huge shock ran through me body, crippling my nervous system. I collapsed behind the divider.

Good thing about not wearing armor, easier movement, bad side, I take shots like a Varren. In other words, I'm very easy to kill, given enough time with me out of cover.

My body was still sparking as I pulled myself into a sitting position.

"Only have one chance..."

I peeked out the edge, found the canister, and fired two shots. I heard some cries of pain as the canister exploded, taking a few of the Eclipse mercs with it.

My momentary happiness was cut short by a combat drone rounding the corner of the divider. I attempted to scramble out of the way just as it shocked my already electrified body, cutting off my shields completely. I had almost reached another cover when a large amount of biotics hit me from the side. I flew a good twenty feet, landing on another crate and tumbling over the other side.

As I lay there, trying to recover my strength, I heard the mechanical cry that any pro long-range combatant hated to hear. FENRIS mechs. Must have sent them after the explosion. I pulled myself up into a crouching position behind the waist-high crate, waiting for them to get near.

Soon, it skidded out next to me, surprising me above all. Just as it was about to make its lunge, which probably would've done me in, it was hit by a shotgun blast, incendiary ammo, I noticed. The Eclipse started shooting past me.

A Quarian took the cover opposite from me. She wore a dark purple shawl, embroidered with a beautiful spiral pattern. She fired off a few shots from her Katana and ducked back down.

"Hey, are you alright?" She shouted at me, her voice having less accent then I suspected. Must have spent a lot of time away from the Migrant Fleet.

"Besides no kinetic shield, low ammo, and probably a ruptured organ or two, I'm just peachy." She pulled up her Omni-tool and punched in a few commands.

"I'm forwarding you a hack program, it should help with your shield." She aimed her holographic display at me.

My own Omni-tool sprang to life, showing a scan of the program she had given me. I gave it a once-over, my eyes widening as far as they could. The fire from the mercs continued.

"You're kidding me, right? How did you even get this?" I called to her.

"Simple." She shot a few rounds. "My mother wrote it. The crew she was with called it "Energy Drain"." I clutched my pistol tightly.

My right hand only tenses up when my subconscious wants to tell me something. That was either a good sign or it meant the Quarian was going to kill me after this was over. I got up and pointed my Omni-tool at an approaching merc wearing tech armor. Their armor short-circuited and my own was almost immediately replenished. I fired a shot into him before crouching back down.

"_That_ was the single most amazing hack I've ever seen." I told her. "By the way," A shot hit the container dangerously close to my head, "you got any medi-gel? I seem to be bleeding in multiple places that I shouldn't be..." She gave me an Omni-tooled wave. _That's better._ I thought.

We continued the firefight, taking out another eight Eclipse before their gunship arrived. There was cover in front of us, so I motioned for her to follow me. We ran forward, me sliding feet-first as we got hear the crates, picking up a Mantis rifle as I did. The remaining mercs were taking cover ahead of us, but the gunship rained down fire like nobody's business.

"Can you break down it's shields?" I asked my Quarian companion.

"Not fully, but I can divert the power away from a certain area if you're going after the engines or something." She told me.

"Good. But I don't need the engines." We were yelling over the sound of the gunfire. "I need you to target the cockpit."

"What? Are you going to try and take out the pilot?"

"Not 'try', I am."

"You're insane! My Keelah-sah was the only person I've ever heard of with enough skill to make a shot like that."

My hand tensed again.

"Your godmother? Well I only knew a single person as well..." I looked at her masked face. "But lucky for us, she's the one who trained me."


	2. Chapter 2  Names

The gunship continued to fire at us as I rested the barrel of the rifle on the edge of the crate, being sure to keep my head down.

"I can only give you about three seconds of an opening." The Quarian told me.

"That's fine," I responded, "I only need two."

"Here we go." She raised her orange-covered arm. A surge ran through the gunship, and I entered what I like to call "Sniper Mode".

Due to the training I'd received, when I first look down the scope of a rifle, time appears to slow down. This is due to a rush of adrenaline and a large amount of concentration... I think.

Time was slow, all I heard was my heartbeat. My companion yelled something at me, probably telling me to take the shot. So I did. A single shot cracked the windshield and caused a large amount of the inner part to appear crimson, telling me I'd hit my mark.

The gunship wavered, then came crashing down. It fell right around the area where the Eclipse were taking shelter, exploding as it hit the ground. That explosion, in turn, caused more fuel tanks to burst, making more explosions. It was really quite spectacular to see.

By the time the smoke cleared, the gunfire had stopped. I rose up, looking at the area with the downed gunship.

"Yeah!" I pumped the Mantis in the air. "Tell me we did _not_ just do that!"

"Alright," the Quarian stood as well," 'We did not just do that'."

"You lie," I pointed at her, "because we totally _did_!"

"I know!" she said enthusiastically. Hm... didn't figure her to be like that, but whatever. We joined our right hands.

We stood like that for a few seconds, myself smiling, and her as well, I could tell.

"By the way, why'd you help me?" I asked after we had released our grasps.

"Um... my mother taught me to always help those in need... and also that Eclipse are the worst merc group, in their ethics, at least."

My hand tensed, thoughts drifting from my subconscious to my conscious. Either I was lucky, about to die, or this girl had purposefully "found" me.

"There are two things about what you said that bug me." She gave me a questioning look. "The first was about your mother. You said that she had developed Energy Drain. I know that Quarians generally have better tech skills than other species, but that is something most people could only dream of creating. ...What's your name?" She hesitated.

"Nala'Zorah nar Iliad." I smirked.

"That's what I thought. With what you told me, there is only one answer to who your mother is. You..." I paused for dramatic effect, jumping up on a low-lying container. "...Are Tali'Zorah's daughter."

"...So what if I am?"

"Nothing, nothing at all. I actually hold almost as much respect for your mother as I do for my own." I started laughing. "But... but that's actually what's so funny."

"What is it, spit it out!"

"Well," I jumped down to be eye level with her. "The second thing that nagged at me was what you said about your Keelah-sah, your godmother." She put a hand on her hip. "You said she was the only person who you'd ever known to be able to do what I just did... And I said that the only person I knew trained me. ...See where I'm getting at?" She nodded. "I know that, roughly twenty-eight, I believe, Galactic years ago, Tali didn't have many female acquaintances. At least not close ones. So what's funny... is that the person we're talking about is the same person." I laughed heartily. "...And that same person... is my mother."

A large bit of stunned silence followed.

"Yo-you mean..." She stuttered.

"Yes, ma'am." I raised my arm in a merry salute. "My name is Sam Shepard... and our moms saved the galaxy together."


	3. Chapter 3 Information

"What we looking for exactly?" Nala asked me.

"Some information." I responded, turning over a dead merc.

"You did all this for information?"

"Yes... yes I did. Aha!" I picked up a data pad from beneath a Captain.

"So will that help?"

"Not by itself, no. It will, however, tell me the name of a ship."

"So you did all of this for the name of a ship?"

"Yes."

"You're insane!"

"I know." She looked at me like I was some kind of diseased animal.

"That still doesn't justify doing this." I scanned the data pad with my Omni-tool, documenting the information.

"I know... but if I didn't stir up trouble, what kind of Shepard would I be?" I said, flashing a cocky smile at her.

She responded with a sigh.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but... you're going to need some help breaking into that ship." I smiled.

"Was hoping you'd say that. Now, I need to contact a few... necessary people."


	4. Chapter 4 The Contact

"So what is this place?" Nala asked.

"My place. Here on Ilium, at least."

I walked over to a desk and sat down, facing my console. I pulled up the holographic display, punching in a few keys. A contact list appeared. I searched the list and found who I was looking for: M.L. Selecting it, I straitened up.

The face of a Caucasian woman appeared, looking to be around fifty. She had black, going on gray, hair, that reached about halfway down her back. Despite her age, she was still very attractive by human standards.

"Why hello there." I introduced myself, surprising her.

"Who are you and how'd you get this number, old man?" She demandingly asked. I laughed in reply.

"Old man? Please, when you were off saving the galaxy from the Reapers, I wasn't even born yet." I paused to think. "And my hair's not grey, just a really light black."

"Answer my question." Her British accent was piercing.

"Well..." I leaned in close, allowing her to analyze my face. "Who do you think I am?"

She studied me for a while, mentioning things about my jaw shape, hair color, and ability to obtain her contact information. Then she got to the most important part.

"Your eyes. They're... an odd color. Light green. They're... they're just like hers." I nodded.

"Well..." she'd figured out who I was, "certainly explains how you managed to get a hold of me. So, how can I be of assistance, son-of-Shepard." I leaned back in my chair.

"Name's Sam, Sam Shepard. And I am in need of your intel-gathering skills. You see..." I pulled out the data pad. "I liberated some info from an Eclipse Captain. It's a name. The name of a ship... and I need your help tracking it down."

"When you say 'liberated', I can only assume the worst." I sighed at this.

"Yes, I did go up against a squad of mercs."

"And you survived by yourself?"

"Remember who I am... and well... I probably wouldn't have had it not been for a certain person." I looked to where Nala was standing and motioned her over. I waved my hand in presentation.

"Miranda Lawson, meet Nala'Zorah nar Iliad. Daughter of-"

"Tali'Zorah. I've heard about you. They say you're just as good with tech as your mother." Nala rubbed her palms together nervously.

"Th-thank you." I decided to add to that.

"She also knows how to wield a shotgun as well as Tali." If Nala was human, she would have blushed.

"I-I really don't. My mother is still better than me in all subjects."

"Oh don't be so hard on yourself." I turned to the screen. "But back to the matter at hand. Here's a copy of the data." I sent the older woman the information.

"Hmm..." She looked through the new info. Her eyes scanned through it before widening fully. "You can't be serious. A Batarian slave ship?"

"That's what I said!" Nala agreed.

"Not helping..." I commented. "Can you track it, though?" I asked Miranda. She was deep in thought for a while.

"Alright." she finally said. "Give me a week."


	5. Chapter 5 The Tactician

I knocked steadily on the door.

"What do you want?" A gruff Turian voice answered. Nala gave me a this-really-isn't-a-good-idea look.

"I need some advice." I answered.

"Go somewhere else."

"I need a certain kind of advice. Advice that only you can give, Garrus."

There was some clatter inside before the door slid open. Garrus Valkarian stood leaning against the door frame. He looked tired, worn out, and I could tell he'd been drinking. Pretty heavily at that.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot of things, but not everything. That's why I need your help."

"Why should I help you?"

I peered around him and noticed a desk cluttered with papers, maps, data pads, and records. Areas were circled, notes written. He was looking for something.

"Because," I responded, "I think we're after the same thing."

His eyes widened some before he motioned for me to enter. I did, but he stopped Nala.

"My companion." I said. She huffed.

"My name is Nala'Zorah nar Iliad, and you could at least address me by name, Sam."

"Yeah, yeah." I answered, waving to her over my shoulder.

I sat on a couch, resting my head on my intertwined fingers, elbows on my knees. Garrus took a chair across, and Nala sat next to me.

"So..." the Turian began, "How'd someone with your kind of family history end up with this well-armed sad sack of a Human?"

"There isn't a need to insult him, he's braver than anyone else I've met."

"How so?"

"He went up against an entire squad of Eclipse mercenaries with just a Carnifax." Garrus looked at me with what was the Turian version of a raised eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. "I needed information."

"So you went after information held by the Eclipse and made it out alive?"

"She helped." I pointed a thumb at Nala.

"I really didn't do much, it was mostly him. He got a neuro-shock, cutting of his shield, then a full biotic blast, throwing him ten meters. I showed up just as he was about to be attacked by a FENRIS mech. We had a little fire-fight with the mercs... and then the gunship showed up."

"That was FUN!" I added a sarcastic comment.

"Yeah, well," she started again, "We took cover from the fire and he asks me if I can break down its shields. I deterred the shields away from the cockpit, and he took a shot with a scavenged rifle. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever seen. With the gunship flying all around, and within a three second span of time he got a single shot to hit the pilot. Brought it down to the ground, killed the rest of the mercs!" Both Garrus and I were staring at her by now.

"Uh... s-sorry. Got carried away." Garrus straightened up.

"Well, if it happened as you say, then there's not a lot I can tell you about combat. What is it you need to know?"

I pulled out the data pad and handed it to him. He searched the info.

"This... this is-"

"Exactly what we're both looking for. So will you help me?" He nodded. "Good, because breaking into that ship won't be easy."

"You got that right." Garrus said.

We talked for some time about tactics. What weapons the Batarians generally used, where if at all the airlock was, and the best root to get to the cells.

Don't worry Garrus, I'll get'em back." He agreed.

"One more thing." I said. "You know where I can get a pilot?"


	6. Chapter 6 The Pilot

Sorry about not uploading in forever, I've been... distracted.  
>_+<p>

"How's it goin' Jeff?" A Turian behind the counter asked.

"Not bad, but stop calling me that... Makes me feel weird."

"Yeah, yeah. I like to be formal."

Nala and I walked up to "Jeff". He was human, had a short red-brown beard with matching short hair. As always, he wore his signature trucker cap. I took the stool to the right of him and Nala to the right of me.

"Give me the usual." Jeff told the Turian cook.

"And you?" The chef asked me.

"Oh, whatever he's having." I pointed to Jeff. "But I actually need something from you, Joker."

I mumbled the last word, taking a sip from a water the cook had given me. Joker gave me an odd look.

"I don't know who you are, but if you went through the trouble of finding me, you obviously have business with me." He turned to face me. "Let's see. Judging by your clothes, you're not Alliance. Cerberus operatives always have that weird diamond-shaped logo on their uniform, so you're not with them. You have a equally well-armed Quarian with you, so that leaves two options." Both Nala and I turned to him. "Number one," he continued, "you're some type of freelance merc. Number two, you're a Renegade who wants some form of comic relief."

I turned to Nala, who gave me a raised eyebrow and motioned for me to answer. The cook passed us our meals. It was a meat patty on some type of bun.

"Sage's version of a hamburger." Joker explained to me, taking a bite of his food. "It's actually quite good."

I nibbled on my own burger. It was.

"Anyway." I said, "I'm not a merc... in fact, I hate just about all mercenaries." Joker nodded in agreement. "I'm also not a Renegade. I consider myself more of a Paragon, actually. I do, however, have a job for you."

"Not interested." he replied.

"But this job I have... it's rather special, and it needs special people to perform it."

"Still not interested."

"Well what if I told you that these 'special people' had to be people who were trustworthy. People entrusted to keep others alive."

"That was a long time ago, kid, and only certain people received my help."

"Oh really? This young lady," I pointed to Nala, "is Nala'Zorah nar Iliad, daughter of Tali'Zorah, who was once crew of the Normandy, which you flew." Joker's eyes widened some. "And I," I swiveled in my seat to face him, "...am Sam Shepard, son of, well... you know who."

I swear Joker almost fell out of his chair.

"The Commander's son? You... you don't exist." I chuckled at this.

"Technically, no, I don't." I bit my burger. "But will you help?"

"Still depends. What kind of job is this? And don't say 'special'."

"To put it simply, there's a person I'm going after."

"Not that important." Joker interrupted.

"Let me finish. This person... they're on a slave ship. A Batarian slave ship."

"Oh, now that'll be tricky."

"There's also one more thing I haven't mentioned. Not even to Nala."

She gave me a look. One of her "looks".

"Well... the person we're after... they're most likely the Batarian's prize possession. Someone the slaves worked hard to obtain."

Nala smacked me on the back of the head.

"My thoughts exactly, miss." Joker said.

"You're telling me," Nala's voice was laced with accent, which told me she was angry. "That we're going to raid a Batarian ship to go after the most heavily-guarded slave?"

"Yeah..."

She gripped my shoulder and her Omni-tool popped up. She shorted out my shield, forcing me to drop to the floor from the pain.

"You Bosh'tet! That's a suicide run!"

"Wouldn't be the first time..." Joker commented. "And every Shepard needs to put people's lives at risk, that's just how they are." I groaned, still on the floor.

"Thanks for your support Joker, really helps."

"Happy to be of service."

Nala stormed out of the restaurant.

"Better go get her. You don't want to lose someone that skillful... or that close to you." I pulled myself up so I was standing.

"How do you...?"

"Please," he interrupted me, "In my time I've seen enough to know that when a woman physically or emotionally hurts you and walks out, she's got deeper feelings than what shows."

"Thanks." I started to walk, or rather limp, out. "My ship's at docking hangar thirty-two. I think you'll like it." I heard him call out to me as I exited.

"We'll see, Shepard. Heh... nice to say that again."


	7. Chapter 7

"Nala!" I called out. "Nala'Zorah!"

Damn Citadel, why does it have to be so populated?

"Nala'Zorah nar Iliad, where are you?" Crowds, crowds, alleys, scattered people, more crowds... This place just has to be huge, doesn't it? Wait, is that her? I ran forward, pushing through and around pedestrians. Down an alley, turn a corner. Keelah, this is pointless! I slumped down next to a wall, questioning my choice of words and religion. Why do I pray to the Quarian deity? Hell if I know. Why did I not tell Nala earlier? Because I'm an idiot, that's why.

I sighed.

"Well, there goes my chance of doing this... and keeping her onboard." I grumbled. "Alright, time to get up." I did so and began walking to the stairs.

If she's not here, she'll be somewhere else. I found myself in one of the lower Zakera wards.

I surveyed the people. In a crowd? Nope. Against a wall? Nope. At a store? Nope.

Walking around, I passed an alleyway. I peeked inside. Thugs? Check. Guns? Check. Purple-shawled Quarian? Double check. She is going to kill herself...

"Well little missy, I don't think you can just pass on through here." One of the thugs said.

"And why not?" Nala responded, agitated.

"Because this is our turf, and if you want to pass, you got to pay."

"Like hell I will."

Nala pulled out her Katana shotgun, which was almost instantly met by eight other various guns.

"She is going to kill herself... unless I help." I drew my Mantis and switched to armor-piercing ammo, glad that I had bought it.

"Okay, okay. Let's not get ahead of ourselves." One of the thugs said, probably the leader. "There's no need for anyone to get hurt here. Just hand over whatever creds you have, and you can be on your way."

"No."

"Look, I'm trying to help you here. This guy," he placed his hand on a Krogan thug, "just loves a fight, but I'd rather not let him have his moment of passion."

"I don't have any credits." Nala said defensively.

"Hmm... Well there's always more than one way to pay off a debt." The gang began to advance on her.

I decided to take my shot. Sniper Mode allowed me to get off four shots, each of them knocking the guns out of a few thugs hands.

"What the fuck?" The leader, who I had disarmed, spouted. The remaining guns pointed over to me. I was behind a crate.

"Well hi there." I stood up from my crouched position. "I'd really appreciate it if you didn't take advantage of the young woman."

"Like we'll listen to you!" A thug shouted.

"Think about what you just said. As well as what just happened. Within two-and-a-half seconds, I fired off four shots, each disarming whoever I bothered aiming at. Now... if I can hit your guns from this distance that accurately, don't you think that I could do much worse?"

A Turian thug moved to fire. I moved in turn, letting off a shot into his leg, bringing him to the ground screaming in pain.

"See?" I reloaded. "Violence doesn't need to occur. Just let her go, and we'll forget this all ever happened, okay?"

"No." The Krogan said, throwing the Krogan-signature biotic push, glowing that odd red color.

I ducked behind the cover just as it reached me, but the force of it sent the crate hurdling over me. Laying on my back, I fired a shot into his head, a nice little spurt of blood following it along with his body collapsing to the ground.

"Holy hell!" One of the thugs yelled. I stood again, brushing myself off.

"Do you really want to do this?" I asked.

"N-no! Just fucking take her!" The leader stuttered, ushering Nala in my direction.

"Thank you." I said as she neared me. Wait... Oh no, she's still angry.

Nala's Omni-tool appeared and my shield shorted out, making me drop to a knee.

"Damn it, stop doing that! It smarts like hell." She crossed her arms.

"I didn't need your help."

"Says you. Look at how many guns were pointed you! You would have either been killed or worse!"

"No, I wouldn't have. But what's worse than death?"

"There's a lot about the criminal underworld you don't know about... Right guys?" A few gave nods.

"Well... I still don't need your help."

"Sure you don't."

"I don't!"

"Whatever you sa-"

Nala halted my words with another Energy Drain, making me drop to all fours.

"Aah! That freaking hurts!" The thug leader started to laugh.

"Look boys, young love." The rest of the gang started to laugh.

"Shut up!" Nala yelled, shocking him with an Energy Drain and knocking him unconscious, which quieted the laughing. I managed to stand.

"Look, you may not need my help, but I do need yours." I told her.

"Is that right?" She asked.

"Yeah, but, can we have this conversation somewhere else? Please."

"Fine, see you at the ship." She walked out.

"Well... I'll be taking my leave guys." The gang was tending to their unconscious leader and dead Krogan member. A few of them gave me angry sneers. "I have a rule. Attack me, and I attack you. So... sorry about him. Bye."

I walked out of the alley and towards docking hangar thirty-two.


	8. Chapter 8 Moses

"Welcome gentlemen and gentle lady... to the Moses." I spread my arms in welcome.

Joker was sitting in the pilot chair, Nala was at the tech controls, and Garrus at the weapon controls.

"The 'Moses'? Where'd that come from?" Garrus asked.

"Glad you're curious." I said. "In the Human biblical texts, Moses was a messiah of sorts."

"Didn't he save a lot of people?" Joker asked.

"Yes, yes he did. The Israelites, or Jews, or whatever you wish to call them, were and still are a people who follow a certain religion. This caused them to be persecuted for their beliefs, as they were different from everyone else. Moses was born into a Jewish household in a time where Jewish males were being killed off to keep their numbers down."

"That's horrible!" Nala commented.

"So Moses' mother," I continued, "devised a plan to save him. She set him in a basket and sent it afloat down a river. The Pharaoh, or King, or Supreme Ruler's, daughter found the basket and started to raise him. Fast forward some years and Moses sees a slaver beating a Jew. Moses kills the guy and runs away because, well, he's pretty much the Prince... and he just took pity on a slave, which is a bad move. Moses becomes a shepherd." I pointed to myself. "And after a short visit by a higher deity, Moses goes after the new Pharaoh, who was his cousin. So Moses releases 'Hell on Earth', to use a Human expression, for about a month and convinces the Pharaoh to free all the Jewish slaves, which was his goal. He then leads, or rather herds, all of the people to a sea. Moses is then badass enough to split the ocean in half and lead the Jews to a better place. The end."

"How did you learn that?" Joker asked.

"I'm a fan of history."

"But didn't you say that it was religious? That means it's fake, right?"

"History is only as you interpret it. The Protheans were an advanced race that built the Mass Relays and Citadel before proven otherwise. Now we know that it all was actually built by a race of super massive machines that bring about the end of all life every few million years. My point is that history can be right or wrong, but most often we get it wrong, especially if it's from before recorded time."

"So... you told us that big story just so you could say that 'Moses' is a word play off of your own name?"

"The guy also saved a lot of lives." Joker added.

"Which is exactly what we're going to do."

"What do you mean by that?" Miranda's voice rang throughout the ship, startling most of us.

"Ms. Lawson. You really don't need to spy on us like that. You're part of this too." I switched on a nearby monitor. Her face appeared.

"To be honest, you don't have the worst system. It wasn't difficult to hack, but most people would have problems with it."

"I'm glad you think so. Put over a million credits in the Moses, and it better be worth it."

"A mil-million creds?" Joker asked, surprised.

"Must've," Garrus answered, "The artillery he's got on this cruiser is enough to rival a military class vessel." Nala also added to this.

"And these systems he has... I don't even know what half of them do!"

"Oh, I was getting to that." I moved quickly to her console. "This... is what I spent seven-hundred thousand credits on. Everyone knows about the Tactical Cloak some Cerberus operatives were issued?"

"Yes. Your mother used one."

Oh Keelah, the depression.

"Yeah... She did, didn't she..."

"Speaking of which..." Don't you **fucking** say it Miranda.

"Hasn't she been missing for the past two years?"

I slammed my fist into the wall, denting the metal slightly. Garrus looked toward the floor.

"Wait, two years? Do you think she's...?" Nala asked.

"NO! She is NOT dead!" I stormed over to her. "Last time she 'died', she got blown up by a laser and fucking SPACED! You saw it happen right in front of your eyes!" I pointed to Joker.

"Two years. No contact. No witnesses. She wouldn't die like that. No... the only way she'd die is something like sacrificing herself to save the Citadel from some cruiser-sized explosive!" I kicked the wall, making another dent.

"Then where is sh-"

"Exactly where we're going."

"Wha-What?"

"Where we're going. The slave ship. The slave. The IMPORTANT slave." Nala just stared in silence. "Jane Shepard. The Commander. Savior of the Citadel. Defeater of Sovereign. My mom. Has been drugged, tortured, beaten, probably had more unspeakable things done to her for the last two years... And I've known about all of it."

"How...?"

"The bastards sent me a recording." I pulled up the video on a large monitor. "Be warned, it's a little graphic." I played it.

The view was of a woman with short black/grey hair, nude, kneeling in a dark room with her head down. She was bleeding from multiple wounds, cuts, applied through torture. Her hands were bound behind her back and there were voices in the background.

"I'll translate." I said. "They're discussing what to do with her. Knowing who she is... They're smart enough to know she's not worth killing... Much less sell low." A prominent voice began to speak. "He's asking if she has any family. The rest aren't sure."

The Batarian walked in front of the camera and up to Mom. He took his hand and began to caress her face, tilting it up to look in her sad, tired eyes. He spoke to her... In standard language.

"You got a husband?" No reaction.

"A wife?" No reaction.

"Sister, brother?" No reaction.

"Daughter?" No reaction. I massaged the stiffness out of my right hand.

"Son?" She flinched. It was slight, but he caught it. He switched back to Batarian.

"Get me the names of all 'Shepards'." I translated before switching off the vid.

"I did my own research. There's only nine people with the last name 'Shepard'. Six are older than her, two were Asari. The only one that matched was me."

"But you don't exist. There was never any report that the Commander had a child or was even pregnant." Joker said.

"I have to register for my ship, the Citadel, or when I legally obtain a weapon. Thankfully, the officer that replaced Captain Bailey knew his friendship with my mom, so she keeps my identity quiet."

"So... when did you get the vid?" Nala asked.

"Three months. Three months after she dropped off the radar."

"What are you going to do?"

"The way I look at it, those sons-a-bitches challenged me... and I intend to accept it." I cracked my knuckles. "But going back to what I was explaining... The Tactical Cloak uses camouflage technology to make the user virtually invisible. I used the technique and adapted it to fit the Moses."

"So, in other words, this ship can be a ghost?" Garrus, now over his depression, asked.

"Yes." I answered. "It doesn't have the advanced sensor-evading tech the Normandy had, for as you know that was state-of-the-art, but not being visible can help avoid a firefight."

"So why do you have all this?" Garrus motioned toward the battery controls.

"Because once we get her off the ship, the Batarians will want to kill us in a big fiery explosion." He gave an agreeing grunt.

"So then, Ms. Lawson, do you have the coordinates?" I asked.

"Yes, and I'm forwarding them to Joker. Actually, it'll be Mrs. Lawson soon."

"Really? Well congratulations then."

"'Miss Proud and Independent' is finally settling down? Never thought I'd see the day..." Joker commented.

"Shut it Moreau. Not all of us wish to live our lives as eternal bachelors."

"Seems to be working fine for me."

"Sheesh. With how you two get along, you might as well be marrying each other." Nala said.

This was answered by both of them hurriedly disagreeing with the idea.

"Either way!" I interrupted the arguing. "Fire up the engines Joker. Garrus," I looked towards him, "Do you have what I requested?" I punched in a few commands on his Omni-tool.

"Yep. This is a military-standard virus. It'll cut their controls and send an all-access distress call, alerting the Alliance, Turian Hierarchy, and whoever else has a radio. This also means it'll attract the mercenary group hired to protect the slave ship."

"Which is exactly why I've got you two." I pointed either of my hands at Joker and Garrus. "I need you to avoid as much crap as possible..." I motioned Joker, who responded with a salute.

"Aye aye, Cap'n."

"...And I need you to blow up as much as you can. And knowing you, shit'll get wrecked." I motioned to Garrus, who nodded. "Our only target is the Commander, so the assorted militaries will need to handle the other slaves. Nala," I pointed to her now. "Suit up, we'll be going in."

"I'm not so sure about that..." She said uneasily.

"I've got that covered." Garrus said. He waved his Omni-tool over both Nala and I, our own Omni-tools appearing in response. "Nala, I've given you a hack popularly called 'Overload'. It, well... Overloads things. It's good for mechs and tech armor." He turned to me. "And I've given you a tech skill called 'Incinerate'."

"So I can light stuff on fire?" I interrupted. He nodded. "Awesome... 'Cause when I'm done with the Captain of the ship," I cracked my knuckles again, "He's not going to be anything more than a puddle on the floor."

"No need to go that overboard." Miranda told me.

"Oh, there's plenty of need. I haven't seen her in almost two-and-a-half Galactic years. The one time we schedule a get-together, she doesn't show up. It was my birthday, and I would've liked my mom to be there when I turn twenty-one."

"I see why that'd be important..." Joker said.

"Why is that?" Nala asked.

"According to Human law," He answered, "That's the age when it's legal for us to purchase and consume alcohol. Seems our friend here wanted to have a drink with the only Human known to chug down a glass of Ryncol and live."

"Wait, so you're only twenty-three?" Nala asked me.

"Twenty-four, but yeah. I'm still young. Why does it matter, though? Actually, how old are you?" She rubbed her palms together.

"Twenty-five and a half... Galactic."

"Which makes me older by roughly two-and-a-quarter years."

"Will both of you quit it!" Miranda yelled. "You're both acting like children... Determining superiority by age."

"Sorry ma'am." I hung my head before perking up. "Alright then." I pointed toward the cockpit. "Punch it Joker!"

"We're still docked."

"Oh... Well get into open space, then punch it!"

"Can do."

Don't worry Mom, we're coming.


End file.
